Talk to the right – or rather let it go? There are good reasons for both positions. It can be worth staying in dialogue with those who think differently, trying to understand their position. But one can just as easily come to the conclusion that there is no further room for anti-democratic attitudes.
Kurt Krömer has decided to invite politicians on the far right to his show. In the interrogation cell at “Chez Krömer” he already put Erika Steinbach and former AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry through the wringer. In the new episode he tried the former FPÖ boss Heinz-Christian Strache. And failed across the board – because he just didn’t want to decide on one of the two alternatives – exclusion or real dialogue.
Right from the start it was characterized more by a scuffle than by an interest in knowledge. “Are you happy that you are back home in the Reich?” he asked his guest from Austria. It was the first of many clumsy attempts to insinuate that his counterpart had Nazi sentiments. Over the course of the 30 minutes, he described the ex-Vice Chancellor as “a flawless Nazi, but without a swastika”, “strong right-wing extremist, without being a Nazi” and assigned him to the “left wing of the NSDAP”.
Unfortunately, all of the labels were insufficiently justified – it really wouldn’t have been difficult to prove Strache’s highly problematic, right-wing extremist positions.
But Strache was able to parry most of the attacks effortlessly. He is not a socialist and not an extremist – ergo not a Nazi either. He sincerely distanced himself from Adolf Hitler and boasted that he had no problem with people “regardless of where they come from”.
Even Kurt Krömer pondered for a moment: “Are you HC Strache from Austria or did we make a mistake with the bell?” He asked his guest. And continued with insinuations of the cheapest kind. He seriously wanted to know whether he had had anything to do with the long-time leader of the FPÖ, Jörg Haider. “Maybe you bumped yourself up there.”
At that point at the latest it was clear that a civilized conversation would not be possible. Strache switched to the same mode and also covered his counterpart with senseless accusations. Krömer is a Stalinist, a “humoristic maniac against everything that isn’t left”.
It was a sad half hour, and that was largely due to Kurt Kroemer. At the end he left the interrogation room. Without saying goodbye to his guest. No handshake, nothing. Neither of them appeared together in front of the audience again, as is usual on the show.
Michelle Obama once coined the phrase “When they go low, we go high” for dealing with political opponents. Kurt Krömer chose a different path. His motto seemed more like: How low can you go?
The current episode of “Chez Krömer” is available in the ARD media library
